Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Channel Four Television: Privatisation

The Lord Archbishop of York: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that a privatised Channel 4 will continue to have a duty to deliver diverse religious and ethical content.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The consultation document on a potential change of Channel 4’s ownership outlined that Her Majesty’s Government sees the great value delivered to society through the remit obligations placed on Channel 4 to broadcast content which appeals to a diverse society.Her Majesty’s Government has been very clear that it wants Channel 4 to remain a Public Service Broadcaster, with obligations and benefits similar to others – both public and privately-owned – so that it continues to make an important social, economic and cultural contribution to the UK.Moreover, Her Majesty’s Government considers that Channel 4’s ability to reach a diverse range of audiences is a strength to be celebrated and maintained, and that this is not at odds with private investment – in fact, this is an important facet of Channel 4’s brand which is likely to be an attractive asset to nurture and develop for any potential buyer.It is important to note that, notwithstanding the above, Channel 4 does not currently have a specific duty to deliver diverse religious and ethical content, though it may choose to do so as part of its overall contribution to the public service remit for television.Her Majesty's Government will set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.

Unboxed

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the success of Festival UK 2022 will be assessed.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The evaluation of the UNBOXED programme (formerly known as Festival UK* 2022) is led and managed by the company Festival 2022 Ltd. Festival 2022 Ltd has commissioned KPMG (in collaboration with Sound Diplomacy) to oversee, project-manage, and lead the evaluation of UNBOXED.As part of this evaluation, KPMG will consider seven major outcomes. These include the creation of engagement opportunities and shared experiences, increasing social cohesion across the four nations of the UK, and supporting international collaboration as well as enhancing our reputation abroad.KPMG will evaluate each UNBOXED project against these outcomes. Preliminary findings from this evaluation will be published in early 2023.

Imperial War Museum

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Imperial War Museum about (1) returning its research facilities to their opening hours from before the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) providing more research spaces, and (3) its response times to enquires, compared to those of similar institutions.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Imperial War Museums (IWM) is an arm’s-length body of DCMS, so it operates independently on matters such as this.IWM intends to return its research facilities to pre-COVID-19 opening times as soon as staff vacancies have been filled. Recruitment is currently underway and, once completed, IWM also intends to expand its research spaces. IWM aims to answer enquiries within 10 days, but this can take longer depending on the complexity of the enquiry.

Department of Health and Social Care

Protective Clothing: Waste Disposal

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the Statement of Requirements for the contracts agreed on 29 March with (1) Veolia ES (UK) Ltd. and (2) Suez Recycling, Ltd., under procurement references CF-0748100D0O000000rwimUAA1 and CF-0749100D0O000000rwimUAA1, including the maximum volumes of personal protective equipment available for recycling or disposal under each contract over the period March 2022 to March 2024.

Lord Kamall: A copy of the Department’s Statement of Requirements for the contracts agreed on 29 March with Veolia ES (UK) Ltd and Suez Recycling Ltd is attached. Information which is commercially sensitive and information held by a public authority relating to environmental regulations has been redacted. The Department currently estimates that 300,000 pallets of personal protective equipment will be recycled or disposed of between March 2022 and 2024. However, this information is subject to the completion of a feasibility analysis by waste partners.Statement of Requirements (pdf, 200.2KB)

Health Services: Waiting Lists

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 17 March (HL7072), what the (1) mean, (2) median, and (3) maximum, waiting times were for patients who had been coded as having received a specialised service in (a) February 2020, and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many had waited longer than 18 weeks before receiving their treatment in each period.

Lord Kamall: The information requested on mean and maximum waiting times is not held. In February 2020, the estimated median waiting time for admitted treatment was 14.6 weeks, with 10,272 patients having waited more than 18 weeks for treatment. The estimated median waiting time for non-admitted treatment was 9.4 weeks, with 18,018 patients having waited more than 18 weeks for treatment. In January 2022, the estimated median waiting time for admitted treatment was 13.7 weeks, with 7,705 patients having waited more than 18 weeks for treatment. The estimated median waiting time for non-admitted treatment was 10.7 weeks, with 21,868 patients having waited more than 18 weeks for treatment. This data includes those patients referred to services directly commissioned by NHS England.

NHS: Standards

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to (1) the care failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Morecambe Bay, Stafford Hospital,and Gosport War Memorial Hospital, (2) the number of NHS staff not vaccinated against COVID-19, and (3) the continued restrictions on face-to-face meetings with GPs, what assessment they have made as to whether the NHS is fit for purpose.

Lord Kamall: We are supporting the National Health Service to recover from the impact of the pandemic, improve the quality and safety of care, increase NHS staff vaccination rates and the availability of face-to-face appointments with general practitioners. The Department has regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement on the provision of services. We are currently completing the annual assessment of the performance of the NHS in England for 2020/21, which will be published in due course.

Cataracts: Surgery

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for cataract surgery in England; what strategies they are employing to reduce the waiting time; whether they have discussed (1) strategies for reducing such waiting time, and (2) cross-border cooperation on reducing waiting lists, with the Welsh Government; and if so, what the outcome of those discussions were.

Lord Kamall: In January 2022, the median waiting time for admitted ophthalmology patients between referral to treatment was 12.45 weeks. While this includes waiting times for cataract surgery, it does not measure it separately.The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is increasing the adoption of best practice in clinical pathways and supporting high flow cataract surgery to reduce waiting times. GIRFT and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists are advising providers and the National Health Service is increasing capacity through protected elective surgical hubs dedicated to planned procedures. There are currently over 40 elective surgical hubs in England, with further expansion planned in all regions supported by a further £1.5 billion in capital funding. GIRFT is also identifying where trusts with capacity can offer mutual aid to neighbouring providers with longer waiting lists. GIRFT is also supporting partnerships between the NHS and independent sector providers to increase capacity.There have been no specific discussions on cross-border collaboration for reducing waiting lists for cataract surgery. However, cross border support is already being provided in specialist orthopaedics.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics: Packaging

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the discovery of microplastics in the lungs and blood of living people, what plans they have to accelerate the phase-out of single-use plastic packaging and containers.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: This government has taken decisive action to tackle plastic pollution. Our plastic packaging tax is driving demand for recycled plastic, whilst our planned deposit return scheme will significantly increase recycling of plastic bottles, and cut littering. On single-use plastics, we have already introduced the carrier bag charge, which has cut single-use plastic bags in large supermarkets by 95%, restricted single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds, and banned microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. We recently consulted on going further still, and banning single-use plastic plates and cutlery as well as expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drink containers.

Ivory: Sales

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the effect the restrictions on antique ivory sales coming into effect on 1 June will have on the market for portrait miniatures; and what plans they have to consider (1) reducing, or (2) dropping, the £50 fee for exempting items like portrait miniatures to ensure the sale of such itemsremains economic.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government published an impact assessment for the Ivory Act when the legislation was introduced as a Bill in May 2018. The registration fee for items that fall under a section 10 exemption, which includes pre-1918 portrait miniatures that have a surface area of no more than 320cm2, is £20 per registration. Groups of three to twenty portrait miniatures that meet the requirement of the exemption and are being dealt as part of a single transaction may be registered together for a fee of £50. The fees have been set at a manageable level to encourage compliance and meet the principle that costs should not be borne by the taxpayer. We will keep the fees under review.

Agriculture: Vacancies

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatplans they have to address theshortfall of workers in the agricultural sector.

Lord Benyon: Defra continues to work closely with industry and other Government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce.On 24 December 2021, the Government announced that the seasonal worker visa route will be extended to 2024 to allow overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. This will provide a greater degree of certainty to the sector after a series of annual pilots between 2019 and 2021. For 2022 and through to 2024, 30,000 visas will be available each year. This will be kept under review, with the potential to increase the annual visa numbers by 10,000 to 40,000 each year if necessary.While acknowledging the sector’s reliance on foreign workers, the UK is committed to becoming a high-skilled, high-wage economy and the government has been clear that more must be done to attract UK workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.Defra’s Review of Automation in Horticulture will inform a range of policy decisions regarding automation and seasonal labour from 2022 onwards. Defra plans to publish the automation review and Government response in early summer, after the pre-election period for the 2022 local elections. In addition, food and farming businesses can continue to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 5.5 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Defra is also working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors among UK workers.